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tv   U.S. House of Representatives  CSPAN  July 12, 2011 5:00pm-8:00pm EDT

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the chair: on this vote the yeas are 195. the nays are 230. the amendment is not agreed to. the unfinished business is the
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request for a recorded vote on amendment number 4 printed in house report 112-138 by the gentleman from arizona, mr. flake, on which further proceedings were postponed and on which the noes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 4 printed in house report 112-138 offered by mr. flake of arizona. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a two-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]
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the chair: on this vote the yeas are 118. the nays are 305. the amendment is not agreed to. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment number 11 printed in house report 112-138 by the gentleman from california, mr. cardoza, on which further proceedings were postponed and on which the noes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 11 printed in house report 112-138
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offered by mr. cardoza of california. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a two-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]
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the chair: on this vote the yeas are 261. the nays are 163 and the amendment is agreed to. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment number 19 printed in house report 112-139 by the gentleman from georgia, mr. westmoreland, on which further proceedings were postponed and on which the ayes prevailed by
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voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 19 printed in house report 112-138 offered by mr. westmoreland of georgia. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a two-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]
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the chair: on this vote the yeas are 240.
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the chair: on this vote the yeas are 241. the nays are 183. the amendment is agreed to. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment number 20 printed in house report 112-138 on the gentlelady from michigan, mrs. miller, on which further proceedings were postponed and on which the noes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 20 printed in house report 112-138 offered by mrs. miller of michigan. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a two-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned
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coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]
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the chair: the yeas are 186 -- the chair: on this vote, the yeas are 186, the nays are 238. the amendment is not agreed to. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment number 23 printed in house report 112-138 by the
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gentleman from virginia, mr. scott, on which further proceedings were postponed and the ayes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk: amendment number 23, printed in house report number 112-138 offered by mr. scott of virginia. >> a railroaded vote has been requested. those in support of the recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a two-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]
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the chair: on this vote, the yeas are 192, the nays are 232 and the amendment is not agreed to. the unfinished business is request for a recorded vote on amendment number 25 printed in house report 112-138 by the gentlelady from michigan, mrs. mirler and the noes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk: amendment number 25 printed in house report 1123-138 offered by mrs. miller of michigan. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a two-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. house of representatives will the house suspend the rules and pass -- [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or
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commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]
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the chair: on this vote, the ayes are 38 and nays are 384.
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the amendment is not azopted. -- adopted. the question is on the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute as amended. those in favor say aye. . those opposed, no. the ayes have it and the amendment is adopted. accordingly under the rules, the committee rises. the speaker pro tempore: mr. chairman. the chair: the committee of the whole in the state of the union has had under consideration h.r. 1309 and pursuant to house resolution 340, i report the
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bill back to the house with an amendment adopted by the committee of the whole. the speaker pro tempore: the chair of the committee of the whole house on the state of the union reports that the committee has had under consideration the bill h.r. 1309 and pursuant to house resolution 340, reports the bill back to the house with amendment adopted in the committee of the whole. under the rule, the previous question is ordered. is a separate vote demanded on any amendment to the amendment reported from the committee of the whole? if not, -- those in favor say aye. . those opposed, no. the ayes have it and the amendment is agreed to. the question is on engrossment and third reading of the bill. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. third reading.
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the clerk: bill to extend the authorization of the national flood insurance program to achieve reforms to include the financial integrity and stability of the program and to increase the role of private markets in the management of flood insurance risks and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the house will be in order. for what purpose does the gentleman from iowa rise? >> mr. speaker, i have a motion to recommit at the desk. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman opposed to the bill? mr. boswell: i am. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report. the clerk: mr. boswell moves to recommit the bill with instructions to report the same back to the house forthwith with the following amendment. page 57 after line 2, insert the following new sections, section 14, sense of congress regarding relief for 2011 flood victims,
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a, findings, the congress finds the following, one, flood disasters and emergencies of 2011 have been unprecedented. two, such flood disasters and emergencies cover 696 counties in 29 states. three, the president has declared a major disaster from flooding in 2011 from 26 counties in louisiana, 32 counties in indiana, 34 counties in montana, seven counties in vermont, 23 counties in new york, three counties in alaska, 21 counties in illinois, 16 counties in oklahoma, six counties in idaho. 37 counties in south dakota, 48 counties in mississippi, 34 counties in minnesota, 47 counties in north dakota, 38 counties in missouri, 64 counties in tennessee, 76 counties in kentucky, 57
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counties in arkansas, 23 counties in georgia, 67 counties in alabama, 20 counties in north carolina, 13 counties in california, three counties in hawaii, eight counties in oregon, seven counties in washington, three counties in utah and three counties in maine. four, the president has declared an emergency from flooding in 2011 for 28 counties in missouri, four counties in kansas, 18 counties in nebraska, 26 counties in louisiana, four counties in tennessee, 14 counties in mississippi and 22 counties in north dakota. b, purpose,, it is the sense of the congress that relief should be provided in the form of grants to families in areas affected by flooding to repair damage to their homes and in the form of assurances that such homeowners are not subjected to
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additional flood insurance premium increases as they struggle in the aftermath of disaster recovery. section section 15, to assist disaster flood victims, a, assistance with increased cost of compliance. subsection b of section -- the speaker pro tempore: is there objection? >> i object. the speaker pro tempore: objection is heard, clerk will read. the clerk: b of section 1304, 41 u.s.c. 4011-b is amended, one in paragraph three by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon, two in paragraph four, by striking the period at the end and inserting and. three, by adding at the end the following new paragraph.
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5 property for which a disaster has been declared urn the emergency disaster assistance act. b, grant, authorities, chapter up with of the national flood insurance act of 1968, 42 u.s.c. 4011, is further amended by adding at the end the following new section, section 1326, grants for repairing flood damage to homes in disaster areas, a, authority, the administrator may make grants under this section to owners of qualified residences for cost of repairing damage to such residences caused by flooding for which a major disaster or emergency has been declared under the robert t. zaffereds disaster relief and emergency assistance act on or after january 1, 2011. b, terms, the administrator shall issue such regulations as may be necessary to establish
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appropriate limitations and terms regarding grants under this section which may include limitations and terms regarding the amount of grants, avoiding duplication of reimbursement for damages, use of grant amounts and such other issues as the administrator considered appropriate. c, qualified residents, for the purposes of this section, the term qualified residence means a residential structure that one consists of from one to four dwelling units, two, is he kated within the area for which a major disaster or emergency has been declared under the stafford dathser relief and emergency assistance act as a result of flooding and three, is covered upon issuance of such declaration by a contract for flood insurance coverage under this title. two. availability of national flood insurance funds. section 1310-a of the national
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flood insurance act of 1968, 42 u.s.c. 4017, is amended by the preceding provisions of this act is further amended. a in paragraph six, by striking and at the end, b, in paragraph seven, by striking the period at the end and inserting semicolon and, semicolon and. c by adding at the end the following new paragraph, eight, for grants under section 1426. page 21, line 22, strike closing quotation marks and the last period. page 21, line 22, insert the following new paragraph, five tork talling after disaster. any property that is stounget a prohibition on increases in chargeable risk premium rates, any 12-month period applicable to such property shall be held
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for the duration of a 36-month period to such property under subsection i and any risk or premium rates otherwise effective shall take effect upon the expiration of such period as presumed after such polling. page 23, line 11, insert the following subsection, e, to help 2011 flood victims, 22 u.s.c., as amended by the preceding provis of the act is further amended. one in subsection c, in the manner that precedes paragraph one by inserting and subsection i after subsection g, two, by adding at the end the following new subsection, i, relief from
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premium increases to assist 2011 -- the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to dispense with the reading? the speaker pro tempore: is there objection? without objection, so ordered they have gentleman from iowa is recognized for five minutes on his motion. the gentleman will suspend. the house will be in order. the gentleman from iowa is recognized. >> thank you, mr. speaker. this amendment does not kill the underlying bill. our nation has been hit by an unprecedented flooding this past spring that has displaced and damaged homes in 29 states. mr. loebsack: and nearly 700 counties. that's right, nearly 3/5 of the states in this country, 60% -- mr. wossbosswell: --
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mr. boswell: 60% of the states have been hit by flooding. i ask unanimous consent to submit the list for the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. boswell: just last week, the department of agriculture declared free month, hairson, mills, wynonna and woodberry counties in iowa as agricultural disaster areas. farmers, homeowners, small business owners are seeing their lives and their very livelihoods quite literally being washed away. i talked to mayors, countery supervisors and my friends across the state being affected, they want to know if their government, this congress, will stand with them in this time of dire need? we need to step up to the plate and help these flood victims rebuild their lives and repair the damage and they should not be subjected to premium
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increases as they struggle to get back on their feet. this final amendment helps flood victims in three important ways. first, this amendment builds on a bipartisan program that was established in 1994 following the devastating mid western floods by reimbursing a flood policyholder for the cost of rebuilding a flood-damaged structure as needed to comply with state and local floodplain management laws. second, this amendment provides a new important tool to aid victims of the 2011 floods by giving the agency discretion to provide grants to homeowners to repair planned parenthood damage. thirdly this amendment provides a temporary reprove from -- reprieve from any increases in flood insurance premiums for policyholders as they struggle to rebuild their homes and their lives. it does so by suspending any increases in flood insurance premiums for a period of 36
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months, we're talking about increases, for policyholders located in areas designated by the president as a major disaster or emergency. importantly, this amendment accomplishes this in a responsible way by limiting such assistance to homeowners with existing flood policies. yet rewards those who have obtained flood insurance and paid into the flood insurance fund. this amendment is consistent with the underlying policy of this bill by encouraging homeowners to obtain flood insurance and by placing the program on stronger financial footing through a responsible phase-in of risk-premium rates. in past years, congress has stepped up to the plate and provided assistance to victims of natural disasters that is what epitomizes our great country and its spirit. yet this congress has shown a disregard of flood victims at a time, a time when we are struggling to recover from the
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worst financial crisis since the great depression. yes, we are a country marked by individual initiative. we are also a country of compassion. this amendment is not a handout. it provides immediate assistance and relief to those homeowners who have paid into flood insurance funds. the flood insurance fund was paid through premiums and fees paid by policyholders, not the taxpayer. i urge my colleagues to read the list of 29 states and 696 counties that have been hit by these devastating floods. and to join me in providing swift and immediate assistance to your constituents. these are your friends, your neighbors, and they're asking for your help. so i ask you to stand with them and i ask my colleagues to do the same. vote yes on this final amendment and remember, it does not kill the underlying bill. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman yields back?
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mr. boswell: i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois rise? >> i rise in opposition to the motion to recommit. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. the gentleman will suspend. the house will be in order. >> i rise in strong opposition to this motion to recommit. i'm very disappointed in my friends on the other side of the aisle for offering up yet another politically motivated motion, especially considering that the flood insurance bill passed out of the committee 54-0. 54-0 out of the financial services committee. on top of that we spent the majority of today debating the billion before the house an entertaining some 25 motions. mr. dold: the motion to recommit undermines the broad bipartisan cooperation i've been pleased to see throughout this legislative process. mr. speaker, this is exactly the type of political bickering
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that the american people have loudly rejected. this circumvents the flood insurance program. it is actually a disservice to the people that you are attempting to try to help. the point of flood insurance is to prevent assistance pack annals like this and should be taken up in regular order. we have no idea the cost of the new grants, the new programs, and the new spending in this disaster relief package. it prohibits us from charging actual rates, what the flood insurance bill tries to do is infuse more private sector solutions, put in the new map, provide twarle rates to help benefit the american public. over five million residents in commercial -- and commercial properties rely on flood insurance today. 20,000 american communities relie on it. we must make sure that the flood insurance bill goes
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through, not circumvent the process with some disaster relief pack am. this is an attempt to have an insurance program without paying the premiums and frankly, we can afford to do that. i would urge my colleagues, especially those on the financial services committee who passed it out of committee 54-0, i want to thank the chairman, chairman biggert, and the chairman of the full committee, chairman bachus, and theals ranking member, mr. frank and the ranking member in the committee, ms. waters for their leadership. what we don't need now is to have the other side try circumvent this process with a disaster relief billism urge my colleagues on this side and that side to support the underlying bill and reject the motion to recommit. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back his time. without objection, the previous question is ordered.
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the i request unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks -- the question is on the motion to recommit. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the noes have it. >> i request a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: a recorded vote is requested. those favoring a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having risen a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. pursuant to clause 18 of rule -- clause 8 -- clause 9 of rule 20, this 15-minute vote on the motion to recommit will be followed by a five-minute vote on passage of the bill if ordered, and a motion to suspend the rules an h.r. 2417. this is a 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the
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this vote, the yeas are 181, the nays are 244. the motion is not adopted. the question is on passing an of the bill. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes visit.
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-- the ayes visit. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california rise? >> i rise to request a recorded vote. the chair: vose favoring a recorded vote will rise. 5 sufficient number having risen a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]
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the speaker pro tempore: on this vote --
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the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 406, the nays are 22. the bill is passed. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, proceedings will resume on motions to suspend the rules previously postponed. the unfinished business was a vote on the motion from the gentleman from texas, mr. barton to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2417 on which the yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2417. a bill to repeal certain amendments to the energy policy
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and conservation act with respect to lighting, energy efficiency and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill? members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]
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the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 233, the nays are 193.
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one recorded as present. 2/3 not being in the affirmative, the rules are not suspended and the bill is not passed. for what purpose does the gentleman from utah rise? mr. bishop: i send to the desk a privileged report from the committee on rules for filing under the rule. the speaker pro tempore: clerk will report the title. the clerk: resolution providing for consideration of h.r. 2018 to preserve the authority of each state to make determinations relating to the state's water quality standards and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: referred to the house calendar and ordered printed. from -- for what purpose does the gentlewoman from texas rise?
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ms. jackson lee: i was on official business on last friday, july 8, with the privilege of seeing the last shuttle launched in florida, the atlantis, a very important issue for my congressional district, and i might say, a mighty magnificent expression of america's genius. because of that, i missed the following roll call votes which i would like to submit into the record and i ask unanimous consent that they be placed appropriately. roll call vote number 521 and these were under the defense appropriations bill, i would have voted yes. roll call vote 522, i would have voted no. roll call vote 523, i would have voted yes. roll call vote reaffirming the united states' commitment to a negotiated settlement to the israeli-palestinian conflict and
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for other purposes, i would have voted aye. for friday, july 8, when i missed votes for that reason, official business, roll call vote number 525, i would have voted no. 526, i would have voted no. 527, i would have voted no. roll call 528 which interferes with the chaplain's duties in the united states military, i would have voted a resounding no. 529, no. 530, i would have voted no. and roll call vote 533, i would have voted yes. i ask respectfully for these vote representations to be placed in the appropriate place in the record. i ask unanimous consent. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the chair lays before the house the following personal requests. the clerk: leaves of absence requested for mr. neugebauer for
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monday, july 11. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the request is granted. the chair will entertain one-minute requests. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from texas rise? ms. jackson lee: thank you very much, mr. speaker. there have been a number of points that i would just like to bring really to the attention of my colleagues and to indicate
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that i hope we can do better. that's my message. i hope we can do better. i hope we can do better than having two presidential candidates in the republican party sign a pledge that would suggest that would suggest that children of slaves were much better off than the children of african american parents today. we know we have a high number of single parents throughout the united states raising children, but just read the saves' narratives and the biography of frederick douglass, there was no marriage between slaves and children were torn away and those who had given birth and they were torn away from each other. slavery was a destructive part of this country. and i would suggest if we are negotiating the debt ceiling, we should not have leaders in the room that make a statement that we'll have no resolution because
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president obama is president. i'm insulted and offended and it is not becoming as adults. it is raceist and hypocritical. the speaker pro tempore: under the speaker's announced policy of january 5, 2011, mr. duncan is recognized for 60 minutes. mr. duncan: the last congress was known oose taxation and regulation. this congress is working to be the congress of free markets, achieving american independence and job creation. back in may, the house passed three pieces of legislation designed to help end our dependence on middle eastern oil and allowing deep sea energy exploration and production. tonight we are going to talk about american energy
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independence and how energy as a segue into job creation, how we can put americans back to work. as a proud member of the house committee on natural resources, we passed three strong bills that would put america back to work especially in the gulf of mexico. we passed h.r. 1229. this is putting the gulf back to work act. it would end the administration's moratorium in the gulf of mexico in a safe and transparent manner by setting time lines for considering permits to drill which provides serpt and allows people to get back on the job. i don't know how many members have been out in the gulf of mexico and looked at offshore drilling and energy production. there is a difference between drilling and production. drilling is finding the oil, drilling that will and move a production platform in there to start producing that.
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and i talked to my colleagues from louisiana, mississippi and texas who understand that the gulf states are hurting because it's not the big oil companies that are out of work. it's the folks that work on those rigs in the gulf doing the labor tapping that american energy resource and the folks back on the beach that are providing the service industry, the ones that go out and provide the food and the transportation, the workers going back and forth. it's the ship that pull anchors when the drilling platform wants to move somewhere else. pipe fitters back onshore that are providing the necessary service to that industry. we want to put the gulf back to work. we urge the senate to pass h.r. 1229 that we sent over in may and put the gulf of mexico back to work. i'm going to recognize the gentleman from louisiana, who is going to talk more about that.
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it would require the obama administration to conduct offshore lease sales in the gulf of mexico. i seved on the outer continental shelf five-year planning committee and looked at the leases all around the united states and i know what a long process it is to have a lease sale. the administration is failing america by not having lease sales in the gulf of mexico or off the coast of alaska or anywhere else on the outer continental shelf. it's time to restart that program so we can tap the american resources we have in this country. h.r. 1230 is another bill we passed out on may 5. the senate needs to act on that one, mr. speaker. we passed it with a bipartisan vote of 266 to 1489. the third bill, reversing the moratorium act. this would lift the president's
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ban on new offshore drilling ban and require him to move on the lease plan with energy production areas containing the most oil and natural gas resources. they are off the coast of mississippi, alabama and texas and they are off the coast of south carolina and virginia and the outer continental shelf and alaska sea and we saw the e.p.a. deny shell oil company a permit. they were ready to go and had their drilling permit but the e.p.a. denied them an air quality permit and our drilling platform does player off the gas that sometimes seeps through when they are drilling for oil and flail that gas off to stop the explosion.
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natural gas is flaired off and denied an air quality permit because 70 miles away off the coast, 70 miles away is an indigenous village of 250 people. this administration is going to keep us from harvesting our natural resources in alaska by denying an air quality permit by denying a platform in the sea because it might impact a small village in alaska. that's the kind of policies we are dealing with and fighting in this congress. we want to put america back to work. think about it. the refining capacity that needs to be expanded as we expand the harvesting of oil and natural gas. it has been over 30 years since we had a new refinery permit in this country. we often think about energy and we think about fossil fuels,
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hydrocarbons, oil and natural gas. when i talk about energy, i talk about expanded nuclear power and how one power plant can put 5,000 people to work, 10,000 people to work in my area. with new construction jobs. and once the construction phase is over with, we've got long-term, good paying jobs like we have at the nuclear power plant in south carolina. nuclear power is a stable, reliable source of energy in this country. we have to expand nuclear power. we have to look at modularization. we have over 1 hirks small nuclear reactors floating around the seas of the world and we haven't had a single mishappen. do we do that for small
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communities and small cities with smaller nuclear reactors like we have on aircraft carriers and submarines. recent studies show that the united states is poised to create thousands of new jobs next year only if the federal government stops blocking the permitting process. there's a study that says in alaska alone, this was conducted by the university of alaska, over 54,000 jobs could be created and sustained with deep-sea production in alaska. i'm going to recognize the gentleman from north dakota who will tell you they have the lowest unemployment rate in the united states. 3.2%. it's because of the energy jobs that are being created in the oil field in north dakota and will tell you more about that because it is a wonderful success story on how energy-related jobs expand the
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economy and put americans back to work. at this time, i would like to recognize the gentlewoman from washington state who knows that putting americans back to work can happen if we harvest the natural resources we have in this country. ms. herrera beutler: thank you for that. and i couldn't agree more. this is job creation and the best way to do that is to explore for energy here and develop our energy resources and i'm pleased to be part of this congresses. when i hear from people from back home, they say we sent you to washington for solutions and that is what this congress is about. you will hear from others and i hell pped the initiative that we have started to bring forward energy solutions that put forward jobs for americans and i'm a solutions-on the parted
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person. solutions are definitely what america needs right now and i see that from the vantage point of my corner in southwest washington state. here's a good example. just a few weeks ago, i met with the owner of swanson bark in longview and basically, his business moves material for the forest products industry including biomass for energy producers. the first problem we have encountered and he has seen with regard to some of these regulations, we have a very strict rule that is on hold but if implemented, they would cost the forest products industry alone $5 billion to $7 billion and that is not hiring or expanding their business, but costs with complying with federal government rules. thousands of manufacturing in industrial facilities across this country use incinerators
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meaning they have to spend more money not to hire more people but to comply with federal government rules. instead of stepping on the air hose of employers, i have co-sponsored legislation and a solution that would allow the e.p.a. to allow the rule more reasonable. makes common sense, right? and it would help the industry of biomass and the jobs that would come with it. the gentleman from south carolina pointed out the energy exploration solutions that we passed here off this house floor. this is one solution that i think is going to help and i want to add it to those four. we are working on that. there are members here tonight who are joining together to call on the senate -- we passed at least four bills that provide american energy solutions that will promote american energy jobs. the senate needs to step up. i'm going to share for you and
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it rate those bills that we have passed. this is important to america's energy security and america's energy independence. . one would require e.p.a. to speed up its approval for energy exploration in alaska. that's pretty simple. developing energy here would have produced a million barrels of oil per day and it would create more than 54,000 american energy jobs. now, not all of us, like the gentleman from north dakota, have such low unemployment rates. i think it was quoted as about 3%. i would be doing back flips for 3% unemployment. in southwest washington we've had double digit unemployment for three-plus years. and it's horrible. so we need to get these things moving here in america and
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create those jobs especially when it's in our reach to do. one of the other solutions we worked on as a team was reversing president obama's offshore moratorium this would contribute over $1 -- over 1.2 million new jobs for americans who are hurting across this country. 800 million in revenue would have come in from, if the senate would move this bill. now as we're talking about deficits and deficit reductions, i agree with the senator who said, we don't need new taxes, we need new taxpayers. get manager people to work will help us get out of the debt this country is facing and create more jobs. the third bill we worked on and passed off this house, one of the sloughs we have already pushed through this chamber is the putting the gulf back to working at. that reinforces safety measures through permitting and inspections while increasing
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american energy. hope you're sensing a theme here tonight, american energy solutions an american jobs. the fourth one that we are pleased to get off this floor a few months ago was the restarting the american offshore leasing act. now this moves us forward with lease sales postponed by the cradmrgs. i mentioned stepping on the air hose? a lot of proposals out of this administration have stepped on the air hose for employers in our nation and it's got to stop. we need to increase america's energy supply, and it's common sense. all of these common sense solutions that increase american energy production make it cheaper for families to fill their car with gas, to heat their homes, and it would give relief to american employers. i'm merely asking, and my colleagues here tonight, we're merely asking the senate to imagine a future in the united
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states where energy is abundant and affordable and where we haven't riding the roller coaster of high gas prices that basically those prices are set by other nations that don't like us very much. so i encourage our senate colleagues to join us in passing an pursuing more solutions like these that the people of this country deserve. with that, i yield back. thank you. >> thank you. i was out in washington state several years ago, looking at nuclear power, talking about reprocessing of nuclear spent fuel rods and how reprocessing can deal with waste by products and provide energy source for nuclear power reactors. mr. tun can: thank you for your comments. next i want to introduce, recognize the gentleman from ohio, who understands that, you know, these resources we're talking about here in america, the oil and natural gas
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resources, don't belong to president obama. they belong to the american people. and it's time that the american people speak loudly, that we want to put americans back to work, providing american solutions for american energy issues and i know the gentleman from ohio will have some comments on that, so i recognize him. >> i thank my colleague for the time. we're sitting here with unemployment over 9% and rising. 22 million americans out of work. and what are we getting? we're getting an administration whose bureaucrats have got a stranglehold on america's energy future. mr. johnson: you know, i stood in this chamber just a couple of months ago when the prime minister of australia addressed
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a joint session of the house. i know my colleagues will remember that. and the prime minister said something that was profound. she related a story she talked about being a young girl, sitting in front of her television, and watching neil armstrong and buzz aled run land on the moon and thinking to herself, wow. those americans can do anything. she went on to give her speech and she talked about the long relationship between australia and america. and how we have solved many of the world's problems. at the end of her speech, she said, you know something? she said, i'm not that young girl anymore. i'm the prime minister of our country. but today, i still believe that americans can do anything. you know, that was profound and
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i think for many of us, it was like you could hear a pin drop here in the house chamber. because what she said was something that we need to hear from our national leaders. and we're not getting that kind of leadership here in america today. i believe that americans can do anything. we saw when president kenky -- kennedy decided we were going to go to the moon in 10 years. he mobilized the academic institution. he engaged the industrial base. our military, our political will. our economic will. every fabric of our culture was focused on that goal. i remember as a young boy watching the space race shot from school or being sent home because it was like a national
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holiday. we had a national vision. we saw industries crop up. we saw hundreds of thousands of jobs create. we saw young people going into disciplines that would prepare them for careers in aerospace. and astronautics. and other disciplines to support our conquest of the space frontier. i am so proud to be a part of this house energy action team because we're trying to promote that same type of national vision around energy independence and security. i believe if we had a national vision that said, look, over the next 10 years, we're drawing a line in the sand, starting today. and we're going to establish a goal to be energy secure and energy independent over the next 10 years.
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and we're going to drill for our own oil. we're going to drill for our own natural gas. we're going to continue to mine coal and we're going to learn how to use it, environmentally soundly and safely. we're going to expand our nuclear footprint. we're going to look at alternative forms of energy like wind and solar and find out where they fit in to our overall energy profile. but what we're not going to do is sit on the sidelines any longer and depend upon foreign sources for our energy and put future generations at risk. i believe if we had that kind of vision, we would again see industries crop up. we would see hundreds of thousands of jobs created as a result. and at the end of the day, we would learn thousand produce and store and use energy in ways that we have never, ever imagined because guess what,
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americans can do anything. with a national vision around energy independence and security, americans would be put back to work. i live in a district and represent a district where unemployment rates are popping up well over 10%. some of them 12-plus percent. ladies and gentlemen, people from my district have lost hope in the american dream. we need a national vision around energy. that's what this house is promoting. that's what my colleagues and i are striving for. i, too, urge the senateic take action on these bills. get america back to work and let's secure america's energy future. thank you for letting me have some time. i yield back. >> i do believe in america's
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greatness. and the world is looking to america to be great again. i traveled around my district recently and asked folks about rising gas prices and the impact that they were having on the family budget. mr. duncan: how they were having to reach deeper into their pocket and not take out the $20 bill but take out the $100 bill to fill up the tank for their family for their normal commute, gressry shopping, other things they do, americans are hurting. but the gentleman from ohio was on the natural resources committee and when we passed those bills out to this floor and passed those bills out from this floor to the senate, you saw an immediate reaction by the administration saying we need to harvest american resources and create domestic energy. the action of this, we saw a 15 cent per gallon reduction in
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gasoline in my district. that's kind of impact the kind of signals we can send to the market by doing the right thing for the american people in focusing on domestic production, putting americans back to work. the gentleman from louisiana came from the oil and natural gas industry. we and i have had numerous conversations about the impact that the moratorium and the de facto moratorium has had on the economies in the gulf states. it is not only the loss of jobs and the income taxes that are associated with that but the loss of revenue to the states if the royalties that they get from the oil and natural gas production. but in this country, in a time when we're hurting economically, from loss of jobs and the lessening of income revenue to this country, keep in mind that i believe second only to, well, actually, third only to income tax revenue, corporate income tax an other revenue and borrowing, the
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revenue this country receives from oil and natural gas royalties is third only to those two things. so i would like to recognize the gentleman from louisiana because he's got a unique story to tell. >> i thank the gentleman from south carolina. i thank him for speaking today on what i believe is one of the most important areas in this country for getting our economy back on track. mr. landry: i want to share with him and the rest of you all and email i received today, today. i received an email in a said, jeff, my wife finally convinced me to send you an email and update you on where i am in louisiana. it says, i still have not returned to work. but it's looking like i may go to work in early august and i'm going to be headed out to a particular block out in the deep waters of the gulf of
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mexico to do a p&a job, a plug and abandonment job. this isn't looking for more oil and gas or producing more oil and gas. so this is not looking for more resources. he said i'm not sure when we'll get back to completing or drilling wells. this moratorium is beginning to impact me. i'm fortunate my company has kept me on since i'm a consultant, not an employee, but my income is down significantly and my concerns about the future of the gulf of mexico has me looking elsewhere. i recently turned down an opportunity in malaysia but may not turn it down again. at a time when our country is hurting, it is unbelievable that our leaders are putting more of us out of work, yet still giving money to other countries. the government spends -- spending and total disconcern for the working people of this
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country is wearing on us. it is also annoying to see that one of the first cuts to government spending is in education but numerous other entitlement programs continue to keep money going toward them. he's fed up. and you know the sad part, the sad part about this is, is that this is an american worker. and our government is basically saying to him a guy who has a trade, who is plying his trade, that you can no longer ply that trade in this country. if you want to continue to earn a living for your family, you need to go to another country. you need to go to brazil or malaysia or to egypt. and follow the rigs out of the gulf of mexico, out of this country in order to keep your job. think about that. we are basically telling americans right now that we
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don't like the job that you've been doing, regardless of how dangerous it was and regardless of how many weeks away from your family offshore you spent, christmases, easters, that doesn't count. your job isn't good enough for this country anymore. you need to go somewhere else. that is just absolutely -- it's absurd. when we have an opportunity in this country to do all of the things that fix the economy, we can reduce the deficit just like the gentleman from south carolina -- we could by increasing drilling in the gulf of mexico and domestically, we could send an additional $1.7 billion, $1.7 billion to the treasury to reduce our deficit, simply by increasing our drilling activity.
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we could increase employment. we all know we need it. the job numbers came out last week, 9.% unemployment. we're not creating -- 9.2% unemployment. we're not creating jobs. we can create jobs by drilling domestically and i'm not talking minimum wage jobs, there is not a person in the gulf of mexico on a drilling platform who makes minimum wage. those jobs pay good money. so we can do that. we can reduce our deficit, we can reduce unemployment and you know what else we can do? we can lower the price of energy for americans out there. drilling domestically does all three, creates jobs, reduces the deficit and decreases energy costs to americans all over the country. it lowers the price at the pump. the president has already
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acknowledged that supply affects the market. when he went out there and released millions of barrels, 30 million barrels out of the strategic petroleum reserve. it's the wrong reserve, mr. president. the proper reserve is in the gulf of mexico and in alaska and elsewhere in this country. and i thank the gentleman from south carolina for giving me this time. mr. king: what would happen if we have a hurricane? we're in hurricane season and we've released 30 billion gallons from the reserve? >> we're not there for that purpose? mr. landry: that is why. that's why parts of this when we did release oil from the strategic preserve was exactly that instance, when hurricane katrina affected the refineries and the production platforms in the gulf of mexico. and you're right. we should not be using that reserve unless it is an emergency. >> i tell you what, you've hit on something that i think we need to talk more about in this congress and that is the
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administration taking the easy road, trying to lessen fuel prices at the pump for americans . there is a short-term, short lived impact if it had any impact at all. i appreciate your comments of the administration having a drill there and not here policy. mr. duncan: encouraging exploration and drilling off the coast of brazil when we've got the resources right here in this country, outer continental shelf off the coast of my state or off the coast of virginia where they have an energy policy that wants to tap those resources. in the alaskan sea off the coast where where he we know there's proven oil and natural gas resources. and expansion in deepwater, in the gulf of mexico. i appreciate your comments. the gentleman from north dakota knows all too well what energy production means for jobs. the oil formation in north dakota and montana and up into
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canada even has tremendous resources that can be harvested. there's an estimated 12 billion barrels of oil in north dakota alone. i hope you'll talk about the impact that jobs created in north dakota has done on the unemployment rate. i recognize the gentleman from north dakota. mr. berg: thank you, thank you, mr. speaker. we know the tremendous potential of energy production here in america. recent studies show just how much energy we have available. in fact, by 2020 in the west we could produce as much oil and gas as the u.s. is currently importing from saudi arabia, iraq, kuwait, clomyarks algeria, nigeria -- colombia, algeria and nigeria and russia combined. the west has the potential to produce more than 1.3 million barrels of oil every single day. that's more than are our current imports from russia, iraq, kuwait combined.
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if we're serious about creating american jobs, serious about lowering energy prices and breaking our dependence on foreign oil we must invest in energy resources and reserves within our borders. in north dakota we know the potential of oil and natural gas. the last u.s. geological survey estimated that the field held nearly four million barrels of recoverable oil but the new estimates as the gentleman from south carolina said says that the formation offers at least 12 billion barrels of recoverable oil. we produce 355 barrels of oil each day. we are home to the largest deposits of coal in the world. our state holds tremendous wind potential as well. and we've attracted thousands of
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jobs to north dakota. it's projected by 2020 the jobs in the oil industry will increase by over 16,000, that's a direct result of developing these energy resources in north dakota d. it's like a -- north dakota. it's like a 35% increase over the 2010 levels. north dakota's unemployment is less than 3.5%, it's 3.2%. in western north dakota where the development is taking place we can't find enough people to work. in that county unemployment is below 1%, starting wages for people are over $80,000, we need people to help increase the supply of oil. i just think every day when i come -- when i'm out here and coming back from north dakota, imagine what we could do if our whole country had the same approach as we do in north dakota. the jobs that we could create
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across this country and the security that we could protect within our country by reducing our dependence on foreign oil. we could reduce our 9.2% unemployment rate if we move forward with energy development. we have to get rid of the burdensome regulations which are preventing businesses from creating american jobs. this is not the time to restrict energy production and prevent jobs from being created. yet that's exactly what the president's policies have done. in fact, i kind of joked if you want to see exactly what not to do to increase the supply and lower the price and reduce the cost of energy for individuals and businesses and small businesses across america, look at what's happening out here in our nation's capitol. the president's official moratorium on drilling cost 12,000 jobs. declining energy production in the gulf of mexico is costing the u.s. over $4.7 million a day
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in lost revenue. overreaching government regulations continue to hinder the energy production in the united states, with thousands of americans still out of work and prices at the pump remaining high. now is not the time to slow down our energy growth, now is the time to invest in our own energy resources. we need a long-term, commonsense energy plan like empower in north dakota. we need a plan that will lower energy costs, that will create jobs and break our dependence on foreign oil. we did it in north dakota, we can do it across america. we can create good paying american jobs, we can lower energy prices and we can break our dependence on foreign oil. it's time to work together to end the overregulation, to
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encourage energy development and to work to strengthen america's energy potential. thank you. mr. duncan: thank you. you know, the time is now. the time is now to stop the policies of this administration of taking federal land off the table when it comes to wind, solar and hydrogen. the wind farms, there's a bill in our committee that deals with obstacles to wind farms off the coast, to the federal land in the west that's off the table for solar. land that's owned by you, the taxpayer, that is not available for new solar panels and solar technology and wind farms and expansion of the power grid and power cables and transmission lines. and i tell you, the folks in
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oklahoma have known energy production for a long time. and i was talking to a gentleman from oklahoma earlier about a new technology to lessen our dependence on middle eastern oil by using the gray matter that god gave us to create new technologies and so i want to recognize the gentleman from oklahoma to share some exciting news with us coming out of his great state. >> thank you. our energy. let me take you back a little bit. i'm 43 years old, i can remember in elementary school i was allowed to be able to work with the debate team in high school, it was my honor to be the littlest guy in the middle of this high school debate time -- team. mr. lankford: the debate topic was resolve. america should pursue alternative energy options. since the 1970's we've been talking about hydroelectric and solar and wind. we've been trying to advance this technology and i hope we will continue to crack the code on that to make those energy solutions work well for us. but since the 1970's we've been talking about trying to get off
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of fossil fuels and guess what? it is still the dominant resource that we are using in our country and it's still the most effective resource to be able to move our vehicles, be able to heat our homes and be able to produce these petrochemicals that are used in almost everything we lay our hands on. i hope one kay i can run my car -- one day i can run my car off a pin wheel that's on top of it but currently i runs off of gasoline. -- it returns off of gasoline. there's electricity in all the different dynamics that come in, i look at it and say, 43 years old, i've been hearing my whole life that we need a national energy policy, drilling, pipelines, production, retailing, to be able to work at a plan that we can run as a country, that is all of the above, that is every bit of our energy but that is not ignoring the energy that we have here. and i can tell you i am sick to death of hearing how we need to shut down fossil fuel production in the united states because of
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environmental reasons. knowing full well that we will just import more of those fossil fuels from all around the world. the united states produces the cleanest energy on the planet. if we want to have clean energy, where that be fossil fuels or alternative fuels, we should be doing whatever it takes to make sure we drill here, that we produce here and that we are the ones that are using the energy and the -- in the cleanest method possible. no one does it cleaner than us. we don't go to saudi arabia and find out they produce energy cleaner there. if you're truly concerned about planetary issues with the environment, would you make sure all the production that's needed in the united states is produced in the united states to make sure that we continue to protect that. let me take you to my beautiful state. you could walk into oklahoma sometime, since 1949 we've been practicaling -- fracking for oil. what many people are calling some new technology of this -- of fracking and everyone seems to be afraid of it and say, is it going to hurt the groundwater and all these things, i smile
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and i say, come to my beautiful state. since 1949 we've been fracking. over 100,000 times we have fracked in oklahoma. 100,000 times-plus. come drink our water, come breathe our air. and come see our absolutely beautiful god-given state. we can do this in an environmentally friendly way. we have in my district 5.7% unemployment. because we have a lot of great energy companies that are doing a terrific job of both protecting our environment and providing jobs for the people in our area. we can do this and to flip antly say -- say, these are dirty oil companies and they're big oil companies and we have to do what it takes to punish big oil is flippant. i was in a hearing not long ago with timothy geithner and he was discussing punishing big oil and getting more tax on it and i was able to say to him, mr. secretary, are you aware that the majority of energy companies
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in the united states are independent producers and they're small companies? 95% of the drilling that happens in the oil and gas production that happens in the united states is done by independent producers. these 18,000 small companies that are out there, they account for 67% of the total energy production in the united states. these small companies which on average have 12 people on staff, 12 employees. these are not big giant companies and throwing around terms like big oil makes me smile when i'm thinking about what's happening in oklahoma with lots and lots of service companies and producers and drillers that are really doing great jobs. i was talking to one of those companies recently, guess who they're targeting to be able to hire? their favorite people to be able to hire are returning vets because of their work ethic, because of their skills that they're bringing back, they are companies specifically going after returning iraq and afghanistan veterans to be able to hire them. it was interesting, we were talking about drilling and you
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go into a drilling platform and they say their favorite people to be able to hire are tank drivers returning from the war zone because they're used to driving equipment, looking on a screen and dealing with multiple things all at once. these are folks employing our veterans and they're engaged in providing great jobs. i was on a fracking site, being able to watch it. it's high tech job, people on computers, as well as people in pumping, trucks, people providing food, people providing the equipment, it's people with big wrenches and people with small computers. and you see this multitude of different jobs provided by oil and natural gas and by fossil fuels we're producing right here in america. we are at a moment that we can either say, we want all green jobs, we want to destroy the jobs producing fossil fuels, or we can say, let's do both. let's encourage the growth of green jobs but let's not in the
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process discourage one of the most productive industries we have in the united states, that is providing our own energy. i would love for folks to be able to come to oklahoma and be able to see the great companies doing some very innovative things. and can i mention one more thing? just today, one of our companies, chesapeake, announced a new initiative taking natural gas and injecting it into a heat up service, heating up biomass and out comes gasoline to put in our cars. they're doing that on their own, not with a government grant, producing brand new, clean energy to help the vehicles we run now. they're dropping $1 million bel to create an infrastructure for natural gas on the highway system so big trucks can run on natural gas.
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industries are doing this. they want to see this. this is a way that a great american -- that great american companies can produce great american energy. they're patriots and i hope we'll continue to encourage these folks. mr. duncan: the same american greatness the gentleman from ohio was talking about, where innovation meets a need. we have a need for energy independence and innovation is meeting that need by creating a prad new company and new technology to put gasoline in america's cars and trucks and tractors and what an amazing story coming out of oklahoma. hydraulic fracturing is something that i think is next on the table for this congress to address because we're seeing a lot of misinformation out there about hydraulic fracturing contaminating drinking water. but folks that is just wrong. there hasn't been a single instance where hydraulic fracturing operation has contaminated drinking watt every. from my understanding, most of
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the natural gas shales such as marleau se ulous or the ones in oklahoma and texas, are 10,000 feet. 6,000 feet deep in the earth. most wells where we get drinking water are 3,000 to -- are 300 feet to 1,000 feet. 1,000 feet would be a deep well. very expensive well for americans. that's why they don't go that far, they look somewhere else for water. the fracking takes place much deeper. so there hasn't been a single instance, the misinformation out there has been refuted by you many times in oklahoma when you, i repeat, come drink our water in oklahoma. i appreciate that you know, a key republican energy proposal is the national petroleum reserve alaska access act that will cut through bureaucratic red tape and unlock the full resources in the alaska natural petroleum reserve.
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by ensuring they are developed and transported in a timely and efficient matter but there are delays in accessing that from this administration. whether these are the result of government incompetence or ideological vendettas, the fact of the matter is they are costing american jobs and raising energy prices. the house has offered a clear path on job creation and economic recovery. that path is less taxation,less regulation, less government intervention and more economic certainty in the marketplace. the folks from kansas tole me numerous times about energy. and so i'd like to take an opportunity to recognize mr. huelskamp from kansas to talk about what's going on out there and that great american state's focus on american energy independence. i recognize the gentleman from kansas. mr. huelskamp: thank you. i appreciate the opportunity to speak today. i'm very interesting in learning what continues to happen every day in our other
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states, particularly our states to the south and being from the state of kansas, i'd like to talk about the coal industry. you might say, well, kansas and the coal industry, what's that have to do with kansas? i'm a farmer by trade and we produce a lot of corn and wheat and soy bones and many other things -- soybeans and many other things, but in order to produce those, we need a lot of electricity. we built a coal-fired electrical power plant in western kansas. it yen rates electricity that covers six or seven states. a few years ago western said, we need more electricity, our economy continues to grow. and we begin the process in western kansas to expand our electrical production. we need more electricity. if the economy is going to grow, and i'm sorry to say now the economy is not growing very quickly urn this administration and let me tell you why, it's called overregulation. it's called litigation. it's call the attempt by this
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administration and others outside that are working together with this administration to stop the generation of more electricity, more energy of various types. we need more energy. we need more american energy and we can produce that. we're trying to do that right now in western kansas. we're trying to produce more jobs. this administration and folks close to this administration, and this is hard to believe. they have said that you want 1,900 construction jobs and you want to create 1,900 jobs in western kansas to grow your ability to produce american electricity and you know what the answer is from this administration? you know what the answer is from environmental groups? they say, no, we don't want your jobs. we don't want 1,900 jobs in western kansas. i have rural communities all across western western kansas. they depend on this power. if they don't have more electricity we'll begin to see brownouts in less than a decade in a rural area. and we're trying to grow our
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production of energy. of coal-fired electrical power. and this administration says no, we're going to stop you. the e.p.a. says, no, we're going to stop you with degree de-regulations. it's death by lit fwation. that's not only stopping our power plants but power plants all across the country. it's hard to understand. i talked to my constituents, they said, why can't we we have more electricity? who is opposed to this? who is opposed to jobs? somebody in washington is opposed to jobs. there are regulators all over this country, particularly in the capitol, that say, i'd rather you pay $5 a gallon gasoline or higher electricity rate. by the time the increases happen four or five years from now, they'll say, why didn't you do something about it? so i'm here to do something
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about it. we need more energy, of whatever form. and we need to produce more electricity and more diesel fuel and more gasoline. we need an all the above strategy. but when you have an administration and culture in washington that's dedicated to eliminating access to energy, when you have an energy secretary that suggests that americans need to pay $5 a gallon on gas leap, or energy secretary says, yes, we need to pay $5 a gallon on our gasoline, what is going on? we need to pay more? no, we need to pay less. the way we do that is not having a brand new policy, or new program in washington. no, we need to let american entrepreneurs continue to do what they've been doing for years and that's producing a needed product called energy. we can produce it in many ways in kansas and all throughout the midwest, all throughout the nation. but when you have this narrow agenda, those in washington who
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have dedicated their lives to make certain that our electrical prices go up, our energy prices go up, that's going to cost us more, unless we can turn to the entrepreneurs. there was a report from the u.s. chamber of commerce. i know there are folks who get upset when you talk about people who create jobs because this is the private sector who create jobs. but they estimate there are 351 staaled energy projects -- stalled energy projects across america. there are -- they estimate if those stalled energy projects move forward that would create two million jobs in the short-term. just in construction. but long-term, that would create affordable mortgage allow us to compete across the world. frankly, as our energy prices increase, our ability to compete and export and compete with china and many other countries is incredibly
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diminished. so we need, we must, we are responsible -- responsible here in this chamber for freeing up entrepreneurs. we're responsible to forces the u.s. senate, we are responsible to forcing the u.s. senate to come to the table and actually do what they talked about doing. i don't think there's a member of congress that was home in the royce -- you know what i like? i like high energy prices. nobody said that. they went home and said, we're doing everything we can. they're not doing everything they can. the u.s. senate is not doing a single thing to help this along. and the administration is doing everything they can to make sure our energy prices go up. we do have an easy answer. the american entrepreneurs, american energy companies and basically small businesses. in my district, heavily dependent on agriculture but the second largest industry is the oil and gas industry. we must continue to encourage them and move forward. we'll do that.
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i appreciate the opportunity to have it about this tonight. it's something i'm passionate about. the people in this house working for it, we cannot be blamed for high energy prices in the future because we're doing what we can today. i yield back my time. thank you for the opportunity. mr. duncan: i thank you -- thank the gentleman from texas. secretary of energy steven chu before he was nominated to be secretary of energy, he wanted to figure out how to boost the prices of gasoline here to that in europe. at the time in europe it cost $7 or $ a gallon. that's what the administration's secretary of energy really expects and wants the american people to pay for a gallon of gasoline. i know when fuel prices got to be $4 a gallon, $4.35, $4:50 a gallon, i know what that meant
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for my small business and we only had two trucks on the road. americans can't afford that. i know the scom from north carolina fully understands that we've got the resources to meet our needs, we've got to expand that and put americans back to work through harvesting american resources so i recognize the gentlewoman from north carolina. ms. foxx: i want to thank the gentleman from south carolina for taking on this special order tonight and bringing with him a group of his colleagues that are called freshmen around here. but i will tell you, the people watching this tonight don't know you guys are freshmen, you're doing a wonderful job and i want to compliment you on the fantastic job you've taken on here to explain to the american people some of the issues related to energy independence. you know, i was home, like you were, during the fourth of july and infence day, little break that we had and i was home
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talking to people about the fact that we need to declare a new war for independence. and that's a war for energy indepns. so i agree with all of the comments that you all have made. i want to piggyback on what our colleague from south carolina was talking about. in april of 2011, families spent an average of $369 each month on gasoline. which represented 8.9% of monthly household income, which was an increase from the average of 5.7%. now that is hurting the people in my district. and it's hurting the people in your district. and we need to continue to point out that this administration has created these problems. these weren't created by republicans. republicans -- democrats were in control of the congress from january of 2007 to january of
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2011. we were in the minority during those four years. the last two years, the president and the democrats were in charge of the entire congress. they have the responsibility for what has happened in terms of energy prices. what republicans have done in the last four years as well as this year, we have put forth and passed legislation that would eliminate needless permitting delays that have stalled energy production. we've put forward common sense solutions to these high energy prices. again, we believe in an all-of-the-above principle. we want to see us have all of the things that we need in this country to make us energy independent. and our government should be promoting our energy resources, not blocking their development. if we don't do that we are going
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to continue to have 9% unemployment rate and all of the comments that have been made about what producing energy in this country can do to unemployment, we must do that. and until we get an administration that understands that and a larger number of people in the congress that understand that, american families are going to be hurting. so i want to compliment all of you tonight who have come here and spoken out about these issues and i want to turn it back over to the gentleman from south carolina. mr. duncan: i want to recognize the gentleman from kansas to talk about -- further, he comes from an energy background, supplying parts to the energy production field, so the gentleman from kansas. >> thank you. i thank the gentleman from south carolina. i just want to say a couple of things quickly. i've had a chance to hear
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speaking before me the gentleman from oklahoma talking about drilling and service companies. until just over six months ago i ran one of those small companies. they created energy jobs in kansas and oklahoma and in texas and all the places where american energy can be produced for american consumers. you know, it's not that hard. this president just makes it so. we know we can have safe, clean, affordable energy produced here in america by american innovators, american businesses and american jobs if we'll just do the simple things and get the federal government out of the way. mr. pompeo: just a few minutes ago my colleague from kansas spoke, he spoke about a power plant in his district in kansas that we've been trying to build with clean coal technology. we've been trying to build it for years. it's cleaner than the plants that exist today. it will reduce overall emissions in the state of kansas. and yet this administration and our previous governor who is now the secretary of health and human services just says no. don't produce that energy, don't produce that affordable energy so we can build things here in
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america. i was just talking to and i will yield here just for a moment to my colleague from colorado, talking about that very same power plant and what it does to his state, the state of colorado. i yield to the gentleman from colorado. >> i thank the gentleman from kansas. both the gentleman from kansas, my neighbors to the east and colorado who, you know, when you talk about the whole complaint, talk about something that affected colorado, my constituents directly, my district borders western kansas and many of the farmers, ranchers that rely on rural electric supplies for their energy were going to rea rely on that plant -- were going to rely on that plant. their availability to get energy from that plant was critical to the future of their operations and i know they continue to work on it and will continue to work with their neighbors in kansas on it. mr. gardner: this is a national issue. the ability to generate abundant, affordable energy and i also point out that those same communities in southeastern colorado were hoping to build wind farms and they also rely on transmission lines and with that power plant came transmission
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lines. the ability to get power from point a to point b, from the resources to where the people live. once again we have a need for a source of energy, abundant, affordable energy. i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. pompeo: i know we're wrapping up here tonight. i want to talk about one more thing and how the president's policies and his environmental protection agency are destroying jobs in kansas. you know, in kansas' fourth congressional district we build an awful lot of airplanes. they need an awful lot of electricity to build those planes. and run those planes. our agriculture committee also depends on having e.p.a. out of the way. today i sat in a hearing where the democrats continued to say we need tighter utility regulations, we need this set of utility rules that will make it almost impossible to build a new utility plant in america. we need that energy. when we don't have that energy prices and costs for our farmers go up and that translates very directly. it translates into costs of food
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at the table. when i talk to seniors and they say, mike, we know what we spend money on, we spend it on the simple things, we spend it on food and energy to heat our homes, if we keep these policies up, we will be pricing our seniors into a place no one wants them. it doesn't have to be, we have american energy, we can get it. with that i'll yield back my time to the gentleman from south carolina. thank you. south carolina south carolina -- mr. duncan: i just wanted to thank my colleagues for understanding and expressing very clearly that we have the resources in this country to meet our energy needs. we need to put america back to work, harvesting those as a segue to job creation. the house energy action team, the committees charged with this have passed a bill to the senate. the senate needs to act. let's put america back to work solving our energy needs and i'll yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. under the speaker's announced policy of january 5, 2011, the gentleman from new york, mr.
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tonko, is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader. mr. tonko: thank you, mr. speaker. well, this evening it is my pleasure to initiate discussion as to the events here in washington as they affect our debt ceiling limit. there is much attention being paid to the efforts for america to pay her bills and obviously america's working families understand what it's all about. they understand that you work hard, you roll up your sleeves, you make ends meet and you pay your bills on time. well, the concern that we have today is that as we attempt to get that phenomenon done, as we have many times over the last several years, you know, the bills have been rung up, perhaps by those members of congress
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before us and by administrations before us but nonetheless they are bills that need to be paid. and as we go forward i think it's important for us to recognize that the honorable thing to do is to acknowledge that we need to pay those bills so as not to accrue additional interest charges, pay them as soon as we can and make certain, make certain that we don't draw all sorts of ave hock and damage to the american -- havoc and damage to the american economy and perhaps the international economy as we move forward with the saga of being able to pay our bills with a debt ceiling limit being addressed. now, many presidents have asked for this opportunity to be responsible in their role. this president has now been addressing this issue and we have brought in discussion to authorize that debt limit ceiling being adjusted, that it
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should be accompanied by spending cuts. and so it has created a certain give and take, a tug of war so to speak here in washington to enable to us pay those bills and have the ceiling limit addressed. it is being attached -- an agenda is being attached that would include spending cuts. spending cuts that in some ways can devastate the working families of this nation. an assault on many of the needs that they have. there is with a ryan plan that has now become the republican plan that was passed by this house would address medicare as we know it. it would end medicare. program that was initiated back in 1965, too took old about 35 years ago in 1966 and has addressed the economic vitality of many senior households since that time. prior to that legislation for medicare, many of the seniors
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were victimized, not being able to access that sort of care. not having the health care plans they require. the industry would cherry pick, they would take certain elements of the senior population that were a safer risk, an easier risk and when it came to affordability again a drain on the economic vitality of retirees, those who would retire at a several level of economic viability would have that situation dip southward as their medical costs would drain those retirement savings. and so history has shown that economic vitality of our senior community has stayed more constant, more durable since the time of medicare. it has enabled a cushion, a security to be there for our senior population so as they advanced into their golden years they would have that coverage
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that was so essential. there is this correlation of the need for health care with the growing older, that's easily understood. and so what we needed was a plan that would provide security and stability and we found it and the nation celebrated in bipartisan fashion and for decades we have improved the system and addressed it so as to meet the needs of our nation's seniors. and now as we look to address the debt ceiling limit, discusses have brought in a cutting services agenda where we are going to deny certain programs amongst them, social security, medicare, medicaid being reduced. programs that speak to core needs, pell grants for higher education, education aid and head start for our youngsterser, the work force of the future. a number of issues under attack, an assault on the middle class. programs that are required for working families, for their children, for seniors, for
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veterans, for establishment of jobs, to create a jobs agenda we need oftentimes to invest. also at a time when we're asked to invest in a clean energy and innovation economy because there's a global sweepstakes going on amongst the world nations to compete for clean energy with investments that are required for r&d and you name it, so as to develop that soundness of an agenda and create jobs here, embracing the american intellect. all of that is put at risk by this frenzy to have spending cuts while we authorize this debt ceiling limit which allows us, authorizes us to pay our bills as the executive branch pays its bills, has this country pay its bills, as the president has suggested time and time again. but the outcome is that many are thinking this is giving us new authorization to spend when in fact it covers the bills of the
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past and to accompany their vote here they would want spending cuts. and so medicare has been on that block, it has been on that chopping block and many of my colleagues are concerned about that. we're join tonight by my colleague from california who represents, i believe, the 3 nd district in the state of california, representative judy chu who has been outspoken in her defense of maintaining the medicare program, improving it, strengthening it, providing greater opportunity for yet generations of seniors to come and not ending it, ending medicare would be a tortuous thought for many out there and there are those who defend the program here in the house, amongst them representative judy chu. representative chu, thank you for joining us this evening and your thoughts on where we're at as we address this debt crilte ceiling limit negotiation and now we're having these demands of spending cuts put upon us that could impact the senior
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population via the end to medicare. ms. chu: thank you, congressman tonko. thank you for putting this hour together for to us talk about what is at stake with regard to medicare. you know, the economic recession is hurting our seniors, the programs they rely on to get by like nursing care, meals on wheels are being slashed at the local, state and federal level. though prices have risen, they haven't seen a cost of living increase in their social security checks. yet the republicans have been in control of the house for over six months and have done nothing to help our struggling seniors. instead they've been waging a war on the programs that keep them afloat. first, they pushed the budget for next year that ends medicare. it would deny seniors and those of us who are getting older what was a 50-year health care guarantee. one that we have been paying throughout our lives. today under medicare are you
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guaranteed coverage the day you turn 65 and for the rest of your life. you can get free preventive care, you can get a 50% discount on brand name prescriptions if you are in the doughnut hole. but now the republicans are trying to take all that away. the g.o.p. wants to replace medicare with a voucher system where seniors, once they turn 67, go out into the private market to buy their own health insurance. that puts seniors at the mercy of insurance companies instead of in control of their own care. we've seen that private insurers will line their pockets rather than provide quality and secure health care. insurance companies could limit benefits, raise co-pays and change which doctors are in their network, none of which occur under medicare today. the proposal, rather than tackling skyrocketing health care costs, simply shifts these costs onto the backs of seniors

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